The benefits of energy recovery: Economic, environmental and social benefits in recovering energy from waste in the manufacture of cement

Conference · Wed Dec 31 04:00:00 EST 1997

OSTI ID:617714

Susel, I ^[1]

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1. Environomics, Inc., Bethesda, MD (United States)

The Nation gains substantial energy, environmental, health and economic benefits when cement kilns recycle hazardous wastes by recovering their energy value through use as fuel. These benefits include: energy conservation, amounting to more than 20 billion Btu/year, more than twice the amount EPA saves through its Green Lights program; reduced SOx and NOx emissions that would have resulted from burning coal instead of HWDF, avoiding property damages of $120 million/year; reduced fatalities due to reduced coal mining and coal transportation, with these reductions far exceeding the local population risks that EPA addresses with MACT; and a low cost of combustion which provides incentives to small quantity generators to properly dispose of their hazardous materials. If promulgated in the form proposed in 1996, the hazardous waste combustor (HWC) MACT could cause kilns to recycle less HWDF, substantially reducing these benefits, with the Nation losing far more than it gains with the MACT rule. Even in the absence of these adverse consequences, the stringent levels in EPA`s 1996 proposal are not justified by the risks they address and are not cost-effective. 17 refs.

• OSTI ID: 617714
• Report Number(s): CONF-9704196--
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

20 FOSSIL-FUELED POWER PLANTS
32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATION
CEMENT INDUSTRY
CLEAN AIR ACTS
COMBUSTION
ECONOMIC IMPACT
ENERGY RECOVERY
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS
HAZARDOUS MATERIALS
RESOURCE RECOVERY ACTS
SOCIAL IMPACT